...
/Din!/
"..."
'... Shit… Am I really doing this? Trying to steal from someone I considered a mentor? Even if one sidedly?'
Around two years ago, Ryan came face to face with an unusual man. His body covered in strange tubes and ports, his skin was cold to the touch and his eyes had been replaced with a large metal block full of blinking lights.
People had many names for this kind of person but only one was necessary: Netrunner. Someone who ran around the net in search of whatever they could find.
It was a dangerous life, and usually, someone without affiliations was a mercenary. Why? Because it was extremely expensive to dive into the net professionally. And that was why this mattered so much.
When he first met this man, he had his phone be hacked, which he successfully cleared out of the mallware. It was only meant to act as a surveillance, likely because the man wanted to make sure he had all access points to the net under surveillance, but whatever his reasons were, he noticed Ryan's actions immediately.
After going after him and realizing his malware had been broken and cleansed by a kid not even a third of his age, the man grew curious and began talking with him, and this soon turned into a strange teacher-student relationship.
Thing is, he wasn't the only netrunner in the megabuilding, there were dozens, but most of them never really left their homes, only receiving some packages every once in a while or going down the floors to buy someone from another shop. Ryan knew of at least twenty as he kept a tight watch under the megabuilding's subnet. That said, he was the only one he ever met in person.
Ryan began learning under him. The terminology and ABC of what being a Netrunner was about, including tips and other experiences the man had in the field.
His mother wasn't happy at first, after all, a Netrunner or not, he's the type of person she'd consider bad influence for her child, and he agreed. But that didn't change Ryan's decision to make a connection with a Netrunner.
His skill in the field saw a rapid increase under the last two years, to the point he could almost keep up with the man's ability. He called Ryan a little devil in human form, only waited to be unshackled from his cage, and actively tried to have him install a neuroport whenever they met.
As Jebb said, he left the megabuilding around three weeks ago for something that was none of his business, and now, his rent was about to cycle. Once that happened, someone would come inside his apartment and take everything in it, leaving nothing behind… So why not take a little something before they do it?
The equipment of a professional Netrunner, one he was familiar with at that. And not one who only did simple jobs here and there, but a hardass runner who'd often go around doing merc work… Or so he was told by him.
His teacher wasn't much of a talker, but maybe because Ryan was a child, he'd often speak more then he expected…
He may not know how his passwords and what kinds of defenses he had, but Ryan was familiar with his methods. With some light work and patience, he would definitely be able to bypass his defenses and enter his systems, getting himself topclass gear in the process.
There was the possibility this wasn't his teacher's "lair", the actual place where he conducts his work from, but rather a temporary place where he did simpler work from. Either way, the equipment inside likely cost a small fortune. And "inheriting" it would put him well underway for a successful future.
"... Haa… Fuck it. Let's get this over with."
Ryan ran out of the elevator and into the dirty old hallways. They smelled of cheap soap and detergent, with a faint tint of alcohol. Making the whole space feel as if he had stepped into a hospital.
This was normal, for higher floors such as this one boasted far more developed infraesctructed compared to the lower floors, such as cleaning and maintanence robots. Especially given how much of the infrastructure originally built on the lower floors was all but gone at the hands of people who couldn't care less about others.
After taking a few corners, he arrived at one last unit at the end of the corridor.
"... Apartment 2122…"
Ryan looked around, and as expected, saw a camera above the door looking straight at him. They were everywhere, and even if he didn't see them, at least two were locked in on him at all times. That was how things were in this place.
Of course, he already knew that over half of the cameras had been hijacked and were under the control of others. If they worked or not it didn't matter, but he knew who to tip if he wanted a certain recording gone, not that he needed to with his abilities.
'Getting inside is the easy part. These doors aren't really protecting anyone. What matters here are the defenses placed on the other side. It wouldn't be too far off for a Netrunner to bobby-trap their home to prevent critical information from leaking out in case of a break-in.'
'I don't really care much about the data itself, only the hardware he has, but I wouldn't mind getting my hand on the information a Netrunner has amassed over a few years in his line of work. He's been around even before I was allowed to walk outside alone. If he survived this long, he's good at his work.'
'Getting inside isn't difficult. I could try a more "mechanical" approach, but if he has anything to detect a forced entry, it'll be over… So a forced entry it is.'
/Click…/
Ryan peeled off the doorbell's interface, revealing the circuitry underneath. Following that, he took out a small divice and connected it to a port directly under the large camera that allowed a residence to see who was behind the door.
"Nean… Can you unlock the door for me?" He asked out loud as he turned on the divide, causing a hologram to appear before him
The holographic image of a woman with long hair appeared before him. She looked around slightly before nodding.
/Swoosh!/
"Door unlocked! I've disabled a sensor program I detected in the net as well."
"Thank you. Jacking out…" He replied as he disconnected his device and installed the interface back in place
"Understood."
Nean was a SAAI, a Self-Adaptive Artificial Intelligence, which is not a true Artificial Intelligence and merely an algorithm-driven learning machine that manages data and can adapt to what the user wants.
He repurposed her from an Agent. A pocket machine that worked like a computer and meant to replace cellphones. All Agents come with an SAAI to help manage their users daily life.
Ryan initially bought an Agent to hack into it and learn a portion of its algorithms so he could make his own SAAI. Not because he needed to but out of curiosity. But failed after finding out about its subscription service.
Essentially, the Agent device was just a streaming device with hardware. The user paid a lifestyle subscription to get access to a respective SAAI fitting for their package. And hacking onto those servers was something utterly beyond his level. Even for the lowest level package which was the one he bought.
However, with a little bit of critical thinking, Ryan managed to develop his original SAAI into a being capable of hacking and operating the Net with considerable proficiency. With her help, his ability to peruse the Net had increased considerably.
His goal was to potentially separate her from her servers and install her in one of his control. Which he partially succeeded a few months prior by copying her onto a server inside his shop. An act she did out of her own volition.
He had realized that the longer they remained, the more complex Nean became. So much so he grew surprised at just how much Nean could go despite how much he pushed the terms of agreement on her contract… That said, he didn't complain about it either.
Nean was actually the same time of Artificial Intelligence Mai was. Albeit a little more advanced…
/Step!/
The door slides open to reveal a claustrophobic den of flickering holograms and coiled wires. The air reeks of ozone and stale energy drinks, the walls plastered with peeling circuit blueprints and a graffiti-tagged schematics he couldn't understand.
The suite in this floor was quite large, being twice as large as his home back in the 12th floor, even so, he could barely see that when everything was covered in large machines and servers.
Multiple TVs everywhere. Large cables on the ground and ceiling, together with a strong coldness that chilled him to the bone.
The windows had been replaced with thick metal panels simulating the outside, and the extra rooms had all but been filled with items he had difficulty understanding. Aside from one which was unusually clean and tidy aside from a few items… And a bed.
It seemed even a Netrunner cared for where they slept. Or maybe it was just him who was unusually connected to the real world when most in his field called it "Meatspace".
"Huff… It's cold… Way too cold…"
He stepped inside, closing the door behind him so none would find him.
"Should I access his Net Archtecture?"
"Was the intercom an access point? Can you access deeper levels? Maybe password files or the like?"
"Yes, I reached the second floor and acquired some files, nothing important, however."
"Hum… It's too dangerous, just in case, run a system check in the possibility some Daemon or Black ICE sneaked into your systems."
"For now, we'll try to get what we can and…"
/Click…/
"Hands up… Wait a minute… It's you kid."
"!!!"
From behind him, a tal man in short curly hair appeared from a side room with a revolver in hand. He pointed it above Ryan, expecting to face another adult, but in turn, was surprised to see nothing.
The barrel swung over Ryan's head—Pousant expected a hunter, not a kid barely past his knees.
"Heh… Look at me now, being robbed by a little… Fuck…"
He reached to his stomach, it was evident he was hurt badly as his fingers were covered in blood.
Beneath his feet, an used stim slowly rolled out as he walked out of the room…
"Shit… Kid, if you're gonna loot a netrunner, wear gloves. Last guy who touched my gear? His fingers now power a vending machine… Cough!... Fuck."
"... S-Sir…"
"Huff… Cut the crap, I'm not stupid… I'll be honest, you got guts. I always took you as a meek one to be pushed around… But it seems you got something in you after all… Urg…"
He put his hand on the wall as he walked past him, sitting on a large chair in the center of the room.
"Were you followed?"
"No? I mean… Everyone thinks you aren't here… How did you even get inside?"
"There is… Urg… An old set of maintenance shafts closed off from civilian access… Me and… Some others use it to move without gathering attention."
"I thought you were smarter then that. Acting like this… You're too careless. T-That's… One point down…"
"Sir… Please, stop talking I'll give you some help…"
"... Fine, but be quick. I'm leaving."
Ryan immediately stepped in. He helped the man lay his head on the chair and momentarily checked on his wound before he ran to the side in search of supplies.
"The bathroom… There are medical suplies…"
Ryan returned with a few large mallets full of items, he opened them on a large metal tray after emptying it of devices, beginning his operation.
"... You've been shot."
"Right, and the sun is fucking yellow… Can you be any more obvious?"
"... You've been shot in the liver… It's a miracle you're even awake."
"Heh, I've replaced mine for a synth one years ago… Doesn't change how painfull this is…"
"Synth or not, you've got maybe an hour before your blood looks like radiator fluid... You'll be fine, but I'll…"
"Do what you can to make sure I can at least move until I get outside. I know a Ripperdoc in the Rocky Ridge… I just need to get to him in time."
"... Fine. But it'll hurt a little." Ryan said as he took a small injection from the box
A type of injection similar to an epipen. It was popularly known as "Bounceback". It was known for leaving small circular wounds on the skin like many others types of medicine. It was quite evident but ignored given how common it was.
Ryan had a few of those on his skin, not because he ever needed to but because that was how vaccines were administered. They heal with time but it doesn't change how painfull it is.
"Just finish it alrea… ARG!... Huff… Fuck…"
"I'll remove the shell and stitch up what I can, I'll leave the rest for the Ripperdoc."
"Huff… Thanks kid… Help me a little and connect me with that port over there."
No questions asked, Ryan did just that.
/Buzz!/
Immediately as he was connected, the whole room lit up with light as the Netrunner was released onto the Net.
For the next ten minutes, his hands moved like a Ripperdoc's—steady, swift, no wasted motion. Pousant's blood pooled black under the chair. With insane precision without a single slipup, putting everything aside, he closed the wound and stitched the man back together before cleaning the area.
"I'm finished. You'll be alright if you get actual medical attention within the next hour or so…"
"... That's enough for me." He replied as he took off his connection
He reached for his chest and nodded silently.
"This will do, the pain isn't as unbearable… I should be able to walk a bit."
"Uhum."
"... Kid, no need to say it. It's Night City. Only saints and suckers get clean endings."
He got up from his bed, pulling a small shard from a drawer underneath a monitor and injecting it inside a port at the base of his neck. After a while, he took it out and gave it to him.
"Here. I've put all of my codes of security measures into this shard. It's all yours now."
"... What?!"
"Was I not clear enough? I'm skipping town, kid… Night City's got two exits: six feet under or a bullet train to nowhere. I'm taking the scenic route."
"It's over for me. Already got paid and finished the job but the clear up wasn't as smooth as I wanted. That's all you need to know."
"I can't carry all of this with me, nor do I have the time to clean it up… And since you've helped me a little, a might as well give it to you instead of blowing it all into pieces."
"Won't this end up incriminating you?"
"Not any less then it already has. I've already deleted what had to be removed, everything else is yours. Just a few words of caution…"
"Someone is likely to come after me, and they will probably go after you. You're a smart kid, so you know what this means, right?"
"You never returned."
"Heh… Maybe a bit too smart… Aside from my codes, I've also put some information on trustworthy contacts of mine inside. If you feel like you need help or assistance in anything, take a look and contact the appropriate person. Tell them it was me who suggested them, my acronym is already on the shard."
He walked to his room as he said that, coming out with two large bags already filled with items. There were clear bloody marks on both of them, and Ryan already pieced together why.
"I'll be taking my leave as I came, the rest is up to you."
"... Alright… Take care Mr Pousant."
"Cheer up kid. In Night City, this kind of thing is considered a blessing. Few even get the chance to come this far… From here on out, its up to me."
He walked to the door, not the main one but a hidden door on his room. Before stepping through it, he turned around and added:
"If I were you, I'd clean the place and clean it up by selling everything you can as fast as you can. A good time to use those contacts I gave you. Try to sell as much as you can… And if someone does come after me…"
He looked at a shard still inside its port next to the chair. No extra words were required, and neither did Ryan inquire.
/Swoosh!/
The maintenance door sealed behind him with a hiss, erasing him like a bad line of code, fusing with the wall as if it was nevere there.
Ryan took a few seconds to process the situation, overwhelmed by everything that happened. Soon enough, with a deep breath, he turned to the chair, saying:
"It's time Nean, you heard him. I'll connect you with the servers. Do a full sweep and do a system diagnosis, copy everything you can into chips and delete the rest. We're putting everything into factory settings."
He took the same device from before and put it on the table before plugging it into the main server, slotting the shard Pousant gave him after he was done.
"At the same time, check this shard and start doing an inventory of everything in the room. The plan is to get rid of all large items we can't use and keep the more useful items for later."
"In the meantime… I'll clean this mess. Make it seem he was never here."
'It's probably impossible to completely clean it though… And now that I'm here, I've been dragged into this mess as well. Maybe I can lie about not meeting him, but there's a bit too much evidence that says the contrary… And that I can clean.'
'There's probably hundreds of thousands worth of tech in this apartment alone. In the hands of someone who doesn't know any better, it's probably just some expensive things they'll sell cheap in the market, I've seen it before though never tried buying… Can't trust it.'
'So I might as well get everything I can.'
"Understood sir. Commencing Data transfer… Initiating purge… If you hear screaming, it's just the some ICE dying~"
"Just don't forget to copy them. They're valuable… Now, let's do this."
'My time limit… Today.'
…
/Three days later…/
"..."
/Inhale… Exhale…/
Inside his room in his mother's apartment, Ryan meditated with his legs crossed, rhythmically breathing in accordance to the ancient texts he carried with him from his old life.
To support his training, he rearranged his room to match his pace. Not with mystic symbols and the like, but with a soldering iron and scavenged circuit boards, building an unusual formation around the tatami he sat. An experiment to try and fuse technology and the spiritual, a failure, but it was progress nonetheless.
It would take many years of experimentation for him to achieve any form of success, and even then, without assistance and especialized equipment, maybe he never would. And neither was he interested in relying on others for assistance. This was something that would die with him.
To his mother, his little mess looked like a child's fort. His playthings hanging on the walls and ceiling, sparkling with light and glister, each telling the story only a child could narrate… To him, it was a sanctum. Meant to boost his cultivation a step beyond anything he'd done before. The pinnacle of his understanding of technology applied to the mystic, even if in raw, brutal way.
Once he achieved a higher mastery, if this method did not improve, he'd resort to the traditional ways. Not that it was a bad thing…
/Bam!.../
A gunshot echoed from the streets below, breaking his concentration.
He got up from the ground, sighing as he stretched his neck.
"It's getting worse… Crime is running rampant in this city… And no one seems to give a damn."
/Din!.../
"Hn?..."
'The Interfone? But who? It's too early for mother to return…'
Ryan cautiously approached the door, knowing full well danger could be everywhere.
What he saw on the other side of the intercom made his eyes sharpen.
Three individuals in black suits and dark visors. He immediately labeled them as hired mercenaries. And they didn't seem to be bad at their job…
"We know there's someone inside, open the door." Said a white skinned man with short hair and beard, but his voice was low and heavy
"... Erm… Hello."
To the man's surprise, a child replied on the intercom, but his expression only wavered for a moment.
"Open the door, we have questions."
"... Mother told me not to open the door for strangers."
"This kid…"
"Step aside, leave this to me."
One of the trio, a woman, pushed the man from the intercom, momentarily taking off her glasses, she said:
"Hi there. I'm Emma. Could you please open the door so we can talk? We only have a few questions and we'll be done in a moment. We won't step inside, I promise."
"..."
/Slide…/
The door opened with a faint hiss, revealing Ryan as he stood behind it with his hands in front of him.
"Hi…"
"Hi there. What's your name little man?"
"... I'm Ryan miss… How can I help you?"
"So, Ryan, we have a few questions. So answer them truthly okay? No lying. Good children don't lie."
/Nod…/
Emma smiled. Her eyes flashed with light as they sent information to him through the net.
Ryan had no implants but the lenses on his eyes received the information, displaying it for him a manner he could understand. It was several images of his mentor.
"Have you seen this man?"
/Nod/
"When? What is your connection to him?"
"He's… A neighbor from upstairs… Apartment 2122."
"What about you, who are you?"
"Sigh…"
One of the agents next to her sighed out loudly, fed up with this situation. But the woman didn't even give him a second glance, looking solely at Ryan.
"I'm Ryan."
"Alright Ryan! So… Do you know him? Personally? We heard from your friends you did."
/Nod…/
"... Can we cut the chase?" The man from before asked as he crossed his arms behind her
"Shut it while I'm talking… Can you answer me, Ryan?"
"... Uncle taught me some things about the Net… Helped me study…"
"Did he ever teach you about his job? Do you know what he did?"
/Shake…/
"No… He said I don't have what it took… I don't have a Neural port… I'm… I'm afraid of needles."
""...""
"That's okay Ryan! Everyone is afraid of something… Now… We need to know where he went. Would you know that?"
/Shake…/
"When was the last time you saw him? Did he not tell you anything?"
/Shake…/
"Uncle left around a month ago. Saw him… A month?... Before that. Said was busy… Never saw him again."
"Okay… Thank you for the honesty… So… Just a few more and we're done here, okay?"
/Nod…/
"Ryan… Did you enter his room recently?"
"..."
"It's okay, we aren't here to punish you. We just need something you took it from there…"
"... O-O-Okay."
Ryan's voice cracked like a faulty speaker as he replied—too perfect, too rehearsed. If he were any older, none would believe, but thankfully, the agents bought it.
She showed him the image of a small data shard. It was a generic one, not similar to the ones he gave him before he left.
"Did you take any sort of data shard from his home? What did you do when you got inside?"
"... I…"
"Kid, tell us everything. Don't cut any details… And I'll give you this Meat Delight." Said one of the agents, a black man with a bowcut and large moustache
Emma looked at him for a moment but did not interject, waiting for Ryan to continue:
"... It began when I heard he hadn't returned in a while… I thought… I heard that when people don't return that… Something bad has happened to them."
"People then go and clean their room… And I thought… Why not pick something first?... No one would notice if one or two things went missing…"
"It's okay Ryan… Can you show us what you picked up?"
"..."
Ryan walked back to his room and returned with a small data shard, giving it to her.
"I also picked up a few other items such as…"
Ryan then listed a small collection of netrunning items, but the agents didn't seem interested in any of them. Only the shard.
/Click…/
Emma inserted the shard on her neck and nodded to her companions. Once she was done with the shard, she took a small stack of notes from her pockets and gave it to him with a faint smile on her face.
"Here, thank you. For your time and honesty. But remember, never steal, it isn't good."
/Nod!/
Ryan nodded eagerly, hiding his fear.
"We'll be going now, behave well Ryan. You're a good kid… Give the kid his treat!"
She exclaimed at the black man behind her, prompting him to give Ryan the Meat Delight from All Foods. It wasn't anything he'd ever eat, but Ryan agreed to keep up appearances.
Without saying much, the agents walked away as they whispered to each other. Vanishing from sight soon after.
However, Ryan still listened to their words clearly:
"... We got it. See? Was that difficult?"
"Would've gotten the same result if you asked him to hand over what he stole from the target from the beginning."
"And what? Saved an extra minute or two while giving a kid a scare?"
"A scare is a good lesson, he'll never do it again if you show him the consequences of his actions."
"Not all lessons need to be like that… Who knows what he'd say if you scared him?... Either way, we got everything we needed. The shard has the dets we were looking for."
"What now? Are we going after the sold items?" The black man asked as he looked over the balcony
"Impossible. Who knows just how many people broke into his home in the last few days… Even then, we confirmed he passed by before ditching town, whatever of importance he had was long deleted. We're lucky we got anything to begin with."
"It's likely a decoy then." The white man added with a scoff
"Definately, but we got something, leave the rest to the others…"
As they entered the elevator and descended, their voices grew dimmer and dimmer until they blended in with the background. And despite being able to, Ryan chose not to spy on them in fear of being tracked.
"... They're gone."
'I suppose this is the end of this matter… For now. They actually came later than I expected. Seems like uncle hid himself pretty well.'
'I could say I was lucky too. If mother had been around, it would've been quite bad… And if those people weren't as patient because I'm a kid, then they might've trespassed and found out about some of the things I stole.'
'I hid many items exactly because of this, but I would've been in trouble.'
Ryan locked the door and turned around, pouring some juice for him as he looked outside through a window.
"What kind of job would cause mercenaries to come after you?... Well, either way, I'll remain low for a while, let this dust pass."
'Like anything in this city, unless it's something big, people will forget about it sooner or later. Once they do, I can resume my operations.'
"I made quite some money selling those parts to his contacts. I lost a little bit of value despite factory resetting and cleaning them completely, but it doesn't matter. It was free money anyway."
While they thought people had broken into the Netrunners home and stolen his things, truth is, everything of value had long been sold before that happened.
It was Ryan himself who spread false rumors around. And after some time, people began to check things out and steal what he didn't bother to sell or bring with him to his apartment. Thanks to that, he managed to get rid of a part of the evidence without getting his hands dirty.
"Hum… This much money might be enough for me to enroll in one of those fancy Academies."
'Ever since I began working, I've made on average about 300 Euro Dollars a day. In the last five years or so, I've made well over half a million eddies fixing and selling stuff on the market. It's even more than what my mother makes… But if only things were so simple…'
'Materials, bills, items, food, and others, I had many expenses. And before I had the chance to sell all of this, my "bank" had a little less than 100K in it.'
'As for the rest of my money, I invested it on some Corporations I felt were promising though my mother's account… It's not much, but anything is better then nothing.'
'Clients are easy to find in the megabuilding. In a world where everything's made to break after a set amount of time, having someone who can just fix something for you makes it all simpler.'
'There's never a lack of someone having something break, and even with the competition taking some of the clients, there can never be too many when in this building alone, there are over one hundred thousand people living in it.'
'I'd say the formations around my shop also helped. They assist others in calming down and trusting me more in kind… People have far too little spirituality in this land, so when they're faced with someone who overflows with it, they end up drawn to them. It's only natural. My age can also help others trust me more.'
'But now, after this little operation of mine… I've raised another five hundred thousand… And that's not counting the expensive items I carried to my room instead of selling… If we add the value of Pousant's info, Programs, Daemons, and the like… I could very well be doubling this value.'
"I'm talking about bad boys like this!" He said out loud as he reached the table at the center of the living room
A small box had been placed above it. A large "W" was printed on the case, with the words "Worldsat" written right beneath it.
He opened the box to reveal something akin to an old cellphone's case, or rather, the outline of one. A closer look revealed an extremely thin glass panel installed with what seemed to be an incomplete case being its frame.
It was an Agent! And not just any kind of Agent… A Luxury model with everything one could cram into. Some could even have medscanners installed, albeit less efficient ones.
"A top Class, Luxury Worldsat Agent… Uncle must've forgotten to bring it with him or maybe his package only had coverage inside Night City… Either way, its mine now."
'Something like this is more expensive than a car, and while the subscription is equally as daunting. A model of this price usually comes with a few years already prepaid. Above all, its not yet bound to anyone.'
'I can just transfer it to my package and it'll be done… Let's just hope Worldsat doesn't sell my information to someone else and this comes to bite me in the ass…'
"Time for a timely upgrade."
"... Din~Din~Din~... Thank you for purchasing…"
"Skip."
"... Detecting the customer already has a Basic level package. Would you like to upgrade or to utilize this Agent as a separate package?"
"Upgrade."
"For upgrading, a small fee of five thousand Euro Dollars will be deducted from your personal account."
"..."
'Fuck.'
They didn't even give him time, immediately deducting money from his mother's account.
'This… Will be difficult to explain to mom…'
"Upgrading successful. Updating… This may take a few minutes… Loading SAAI…"
"... Nean."
"Yes? How may I help you?"
"Can you interfere with the updating process? Can you transfer yourself to this new device instead?"
"There's no need for any complicated procedure. Once the update concludes, you can open a special option and select "Transfer SAAI personality", and I'll be linked to your Agent after undergoing an upgrade."
"Upgrade?"
"Given the nature of the Premium Luxury package, the linked SAAI possesses increased processing power and utilities at their disposal. Including more advanced and efficient programming. It's significantly more potent than what my current systems can handle."
"... And let me guess, that will have a fee as well?"
"The precise amount for the operation is eight thousand Euro Dollars."
"..."
'I hate these corporations… I swear one day I'll just drain them of everything they have…'
…
/Two months later…/
"... Alright. Is everything ready?"
Inside a white, clean office, a doctor, with the help of several nurses, slowly put on his clothes as he got ready for a surgery.
In front of him, another nurse waited patiently for them to finish, her hands behind her back.
"Yes doctor. Would you like a debrief?"
"Please. Does the client have a preference of installation?"
"Yes. He specifically required the Neuroport and its aggregates to be installed at the base of the skull where a direct line can be passed with minimal damage to the body. His words."
"The client seems to have a preference for minimal body modifications but requires a Neuroport for daily activities."
"Hum… A common scenario then. No wonder he went with this model. Smooth and clean, wide bandgap, extremely powerful. This is top of the line stuff… But what's this?" The doctor asked as he read a file, his eyes glistering faintly
"It's the customer's requirements, doctor."
"I can see that. Very well made and detailed… Professional. Whoever made this knew what they wanted and made their research. But what got me confused is what is all of this for? I've seen picky customers, but this one gets the cake."
"I can understand not wanting to proceed with a Virtu Recorder, the Holophone, and even your standard Biomonitor… But just the Neural and Personal Links? What's the point of this then? Does he just want an access point to the brain and nothing else?"
"He doesn't even want a Shard Slot. I've never seen someone strip this operation this much… Maybe once or twice but I struggle to even remember why those happened."
"What pisses me off even more is the way he wants me to operate on him in a specific manner. He doesn't want this, then he wants that done this way… At this point, he named so many steps he can do the operation himself! Why come to me at all if he already has everything planned?"
"Doctor… I asked him the same thing and… From his own words: "I need a professional that can fulfill my needs without mistake"."
"... Sigh… Alright… Such a good model though. To see it stripped of essentially all functionality… Why would someone refuse a Biomonitor anyway? Are they one of those conspiracy theorists that think the Corps are stealing their data?"
The nurse shook her head. She didn't know.
"Fine. I got paid for the operation anyway and extra requirements are charged apart… Lets go to the surgery room and get this over with before he shoves another requirement down my throat."
…
/Several hours later…/
"... Urg… My neck…"
"Hm? Ryan! You're awake!"
"Mmn… Mom?... I can't move my head… How long…"
"Wait a minute, I'll call the doctor. Sit tight."
"... Not like I have much to do."
/Step step step…/
"... Doctor?... Yes… Call the doctor please…"
Ryan woke up in a hospital room. Brown wooden walls with smooth, warm lights. A single bed and a television hanging on the ceiling, with faint classical music playing in the background.
'I'm still alive and my neck is unresponsive… I say the operation was a success then.'
'... I'm starting to regret it, but it's done now and taking it off isn't an option. I've had all unnecessary parts stripped out with only the connections being there. After all, that's the only thing I need.'
'Convenience be damned. I'd rather have to check on a physical phone everyday than have one lodged inside my skull. To most people changing phone modules may be as simple as a stop by a clinic or a ripperdoc but I couldn't care less.'
'The entire idea was to buy a powerful Neuroport which I wouldn't have to change anytime soon. Technically speaking, the Neuport itself isn't anything complicated to install. The process essentially revolves around a module being implanted to the spine which then releases nanobots to thread links with the central nervous system and hook nerve endings to the neural processor.'
'Once this process is done. In the chance I want to change my neural processor, I can just switch the processor for the tapestry that has already been laid. I likely won't need anything like that anytime soon though… The neural processor I got is top of the line. If I want to upgrade it, then I just need to add extra co-processors… Not that I'll do it. I had enough of people opening me up already.'
"... Dear? Are you feeling alright?"
His mother approached him, her eyes twisting and turning as they scanned him. The smell of synthetic leather and cheap perfume mixing with the taste of metal and medicine in his mouth.
"Well enough mom… How long have I been knocked out?..."
"Hello Ryan!~"
"Nean…"
"It's been just about a day dear. About… Thirty hours maybe?"
"So quickly?"
'The nano surgeons usually take days to finish the process. I know the model I bought was good but does that equate to this as well?...'
"The doctor said you responded quite well…"
"And well you did. Almost no reaction to the process."
A man in white entered the room, his eyes fixated in the air as he read something only he could see.
"... Everything seems fine… You really are an unusual case."
"Is something wrong with him, doctor?"
"Not at all. All of his vitals are where they should be. I'd attach a portion of this condition to the quality of the implant, but he deserves praise too."
"Now, let's talk about what matters… The operation was a success. The risk of failure was utterly minimal. Regardless, extreme rejection did occur before, so I'd keep an open eye just in case."
"In his case, I've prepared a list of medications for him to take in the following days and weeks to help the implant settle in his body. I don't expect anything unusual to occur given his level of compatibility, but I've also separated a set of immunosuppressants in case he starts to feel some discomfort. If things persist and you can't stop feeling unusual, stop by again so we can talk."
"After that, the usual. No physical activities for the next two weeks is the bare minimum. This is one of the simplest operations but it's the most important. Giving it time to settle will prevent many future complications."
"I'd say that resting in bed for the next five days would cover just about everything. This, of course, includes dives into the Net young man. VR goggles count as diving."
"Mother, make sure to keep him away from using his Personal link and Neuro Port for the next week. If possible, only do so after our next meeting two weeks after. You should also schedule it once you're on your way out."
"I understand. I'll do so doctor."
"What about you, young man?"
"... Okay…"
"Excellent. Mother, I'll be sending the links regarding proper maintenance and user manual for his implant, have him learn it if he doesn't already know. He's still in his growing phase, so he'll likely need to stop by every few months for a check up and potentially even readjustments later down the line."
"Now, if you excuse me, I'll be on my way… You're already discharged, but your plan covers for at least three days of stay, and it's barely been over one so stay for a little longer if you wish. For anything else, the nurses are around to help."
"Thank you doctor."
"Thank you…"
/Swoosh…/
The sliding door closed behind him as he departed with a satisfying 'click', sealing the room from the world outside.
"... Can we leave now mom?"
"Already eager to leave? Let me guess why…"
"I'm not going to disobey the doctor…"
"Uhum… Once you can move your neck we'll leave. For now, read the manuals the doctor sent you."
"Where are you going?"
"To work of course. Already missed it once and now I'm late. I'll be back by seven as always."
/Kiss…/
She kissed his forehead and went to the door.
"Be a good boy and wait for mama, alright? Don't cause trouble to the nurses."
"Okay… Bye…"
/Swoosh…/
"... Sigh…"
Ryan looked at the ceiling, resisting the urge to reach out to his neck. Feeling awful inside.
'Now I have a chip inside my body and millions of connections worming their way inside my nervous system… I've prepared for this but just saying it out loud makes my stomach grow cold.'
'I didn't have plans of immediately diving into the Net, but I have no plans of stepping away from it either… It's time to begin the next phase of my development plan. My preparations for the future. The stepping stone for the final steps…'
'The way I went for my development was one of potential… Accumulation and refinement. This leads to stronger martial arts once I reach the tilting point, but has the downside of limiting my prowess until it occurs… I'm not that much stronger than an ordinary person right now, mind for a few details such as my senses.'
'I decided to follow the physical route of martial development. The kind that doesn't alter the body and isn't taxing either. This path wasn't well received for its downsides, but those downsides won't matter much here since my opponents will be at most robots and mechanized humans. Not martial masters with enhanced energy.'
'Either way, I'll quickly grow outside its downsides in due time. Until then, I just need to bide my time…'
'I wouldn't have needed to follow this method had I been back in my old world. But with the limitations this world imposes on me, it's one of the solutions I went to.'
'My martial arts are still in their incubation phase. Gathering energy and training my body. They'll finally bloom once I reach physical maturity. That's when I can truly start my old ideas.'
'I already accounted for this but still, I'll have to be careful of which martial arts I choose. I imagine most physical arts that induce severe bodily change will be incompatible with all hardware overtime… Not that I had any plans of practicing them… Wasn't a fan of them anyway.'
'For now… Focus on recovery, then begin learning the limits of this implant. No need to do anything else. The way I've been living so far is already packed enough for me.'
"... Time waits for no one."
Ryan closed his eyes, losing himself inside his dreams…
…
/Two weeks later…/
/Buzz…/
"Hm?... What's going on here?"
Ryan returned from his daily visit at the Mega Building's market to buy groceries and scout for work when he found a group of kids piling up on the corner next to a beeping vending machine.
He wouldn't have approached them on a normal day, but those kids were part of his class so he knew them…
"Ryan! Just the guy I wanted to see! The thing is, the vending machine is busted."
The kids turned to him, three of them. Two his age aside from Jebb, who loomed like a glitched NPC, his outdated Kiroshis flickering. Two years older, two grades behind—Watson's poster boy for wasted potential.
Jebb wasn't very intelligent and spent most of his time playing ball so he repeated a few years, and his mother wanted him to go through education the legitimate way. Hence, this situation.
"I can see that, it's beeping more than a damn commercial. What happened?"
"We found it like this. Came to get a treat but it just ate our money the damn thing!"
/KICK!/
"... Kicking the machine won't change anything…"
"Father always said that a good slap fixes anything!"
"... Maybe to something more "analog", this thing has a little too many sensors to make sure no one steals from it."
"... Say, can you fix it? We're starving over here, and I doubt those guys will pass by anytime soon."
"Fix it? I definitely can. The tech on this tin can is almost half a century old… The question is, would I? And the answer is no. I'm not touching Corpo shit."
"Come on Ryan! Do your choom a favor and get it to at least spit our money back!"
"That's even harder. Once these things get your money, they're never spitting it back even if you bomb it… I won't help you guys steal it either, but I can have it spit out what you bought."
"Thanks!"
"..."
Ryan crouched on the ground near the vending machine, the smell of chemical soda flooding his nostrils.
'How can anyone drink this?... Sigh… Hum, looks like something burned.'
/Buzz…/
"B-Buuuy t-t-th-NEW!..."
'Even broken, it still tries to sell this crap… Sigh.'
The vending machine tried its best to display holographic ads for all to see but kept failing each time. Resetting to the beginning and causing a lot of noise in the process.
Ryan pulled a small cyberdeck from his backpack and connected it to the port at the base of his skull. After that, he connected the cyberdeck to the vending machine and concentrated. His eyes flashed blue and a moment after, the machine came to life.
Ryan's neuroport hummed, a spider weaving code into the machine's rusted veins. The vending machine shuddered, coughing up loot like a dying slot machine:
/Catchin! Catchin!/
Several drinks were spat out from inside, and the kids happily swarmed them as Ryan stepped back.
"Thanks choom!... But why didn't you just plug directly in?"
"You crazy? Who knows where that port passed through? I only jack in with unknown docks with disposable wires."
"Fair… Hey, here, for you." Jebb said as he threw him a drink
"... You know I don't drink these, right?" He replied as he looked at the soda can
In bright and colorful letters, Cirrus Cola Classic!
"Not all gifts are what we want. See ya later, choom!"
"... See ya…"
Ryan looked back at the broken vending machine. It was best he left before someone blamed its state on him…
/Swoop!!/
Not long after, a drone flew by his head, inspecting the vending machine with a red flash of light. And before trouble found him, he left.
…
/Three years later…/
Time passed as Ryan spent most of his time in his shop toying around with the items he took from Pousant, continuing his work and studies as he raised money for the future.
He tried to avoid trouble and associating with other equally troublesome people as his mother wanted, still, he kept tabs on those around him, be them mercs or not. Oftentimes, one of them didn't return, and this meant everything that was theirs was now his or whoever got there first.
He spent a lot of time studying the files left in his possession, learning a lot about the world of Netrunning and Mercenaries. Names and ideas like Fixers, Solos, The Afterlife, Rogue, Morgan Blackhand, Adam Smasher, and so on began to enter his field of vision.
The legends of the past and future, how they conducted business, how the Night City revolved around them, how they changed both the past and present… And he began to get a clearer idea of what he wanted his future to look like.
Aside from them, the world continued to change. After a series of vicious storms, Haiti was officially abandoned by the government, a large portion of its population relocating to Night City's ongoing district, Pacifica.
At the same time, the bird flu which had taken tens of thousands of lives in the past few years continued to kill dozens everyday, and talks about a solution increased in intensity in both the lower and higher members of society.
There wasn't a single day he would see a poster or add flying high in the sky spreading caution and some service to those affected by the virus. It seemed the government was more busy selling short term solutions to those in suffering then actually trying to solve the issue at hand.
Not long after, to the surprise of many, Night City adopted the Avian Extermination Act, which envisioned the extermination of all avian life within eighteen miles of Night City.
Ryan saw the announcement as nothing out of the ordinary, yet he couldn't help but feel surprised at the heights those at the top would take to solve problems the worst way possible.
Either way, it took no time for birds to vanish out of the skies, making this already dead city feel even more desolate…
Finally, starting the new year of 2065, Rosalind Myers, previously the CEO of Militech, became the third President of the New United States of America. Her aggressive ideologies and business oriented mind promised the country a new future, or so they said… It was none of his concern.
He graduated Middle school top of his class and entered High school without much trouble, and for the education he, or rather, his mother wanted, an ordinary school inside his Mega Building wasn't going to cut it.
If he could, Ryan would continue his studies through the Net on his own, but his mother made the call and he listened, end of the story. So he began attending a school a few blocks away.
It didn't matter either way. Ryan's knowledge was already far beyond his peers. While children his age learned how to count properly, he was already finishing university level courses.
It wasn't just because he was intelligent or better than them. No, he put in a lot more effort than many of them combined. Even now, Ryan had spent not even a few days playing like others his age… Not counting the time he had to "act" for his parents.,,
As for the world around him, Watson was currently in the middle of a "depopulation" due to the construction boom affecting other areas of Night City like the City Center and Westbrook, turning Watson into a supporting periphery like it was during the years before he was born.
The rich and affluent left for other regions, leaving thousands of homes unoccupied or abandoned. And at the same time, factories and other areas which were slowly recovering from the Fourth Corporate War were left to rot in view of the more valuable areas.
Watson was still changing greatly due to the Fourth Corporate War's imprint. More and more immigrants were thrown into its streets, and day after day they became harder and harder to navigate across.
But despite everything, if one knew where and how to walk, things weren't so bad… Even so, Ryan could tell that something was brewing in the horizon, he couldn't just tell what exactly.
Whatever it was, it likely wouldn't have anything to do with him. For his daily life, the most he had to worry about were the gangs and their operations, or the occasional mercenary causing trouble and shootouts throughout the city.
His mother came to him as his priority, with him helping her acquire some basic cyberware to better her living and working conditions. But ever since his own operation, he never touched on Cyberware again aside from learning more about it for the sake of keeping himself informed.
For his income, Ryan continued with his business in the Mega building, advancing into more complex fields with the help of his cyberware. However, this was a more competitive field given it was where all played at. However, with his pseudo Netrunner ability, he managed to score at a niche where most common folk couldn't.
He tried his best not to dive into the illicit and similar areas, but in Night City, crime was everywhere and those that ignored it only had one fate: To be in the receiving end.
More than once, Ryan assisted some of his neighbors in borderline legal activities. Be it hacking or modifying a piece of tech they found "somewhere", Ryan extended his services to anyone on the premise trouble wouldn't come after him.
While he could, Ryan avoided involving himself in the Ripperdoc scene, at most helping a desperate neighbor make a check on their Cyberware so they knew exactly what to ask when they went to a clinic. Or if they couldn't afford one, a Ripperdoc.
He followed the news, be it through official or illegal channels, making sure to get as many perspectives as he could, and kept himself in touch, even if barely, with some of Pousant's contacts. Which was how he acquired many pieces of tech otherwise impossible to find on the Net.
The megabuilding's trash became his gold. A fried drone here, a faulty cybereye there…Ryan's shop turned junk into miracles.
Reselling old junk he fixed accounted for most of his income. It was a hard life of constant work he had to balance with his daily training and experiments, but it was one he enjoyed and felt fulfilling.
Danger lurked everywhere, and now, the real world wasn't the only place he had to worry about. Still, he saw some beauty in it all. A distorted and raw kind of emotion but one nonetheless.
Night City didn't hunt you. It eroded you, one compromised principle at a time. Even for a man once hailed a Saint.
…
"... Yeah… Uhum… I'm going back home… Yeah, I'm still with them… See ya, mom… Sigh."
On a small bar by the street corner, Ryan and a few others could be seen eating together under a faint electronic music playing on a radio.
The bar reeked of alcohol and smoke from the cars on the road, hologram dancers flickering like ghosts above the crowd. Ryan's ate a meat skewer that tasted like salted cardboard, but he forced it down.
Ryan didn't seem very happy to be around, but he rarely showed any emotion anyway… For anyone who knew him, this might as well be him smiling.
"You done man? Come on! Let's stop by…"
"No Jebb, that was enough for a night. We're going back home."
"We? What do you mean 'we'? There is no "we" here! Next stop, RIOT BABY!"
"Jebb… You're drunk… Can anyone put some sense into him?" Ryan asked as he looked at the others
/Shrugg/
There were three others with him, all the same age as Jebb, 18. Last week was Jebb's 18th birthday and now he couldn't stop hitting bars every night. His mother, however, wasn't found of this behaviur, growing worried of his increasingly rash actions whenever he arrived home late.
And if her words weren't enough… She needed something more concrete, and that was how Ryan got involved in all of this… But it would all end today.
He wasn't even supposed to be here, much less wasting his precious time being around a brat who couldn't contain himself. He had better things to do.
"Look, its almost two in the morning and you want to go to some concert? Get a grip man… You already…"
"NO! I had enough of you and my mom! I'll do what I want now! And…"
"Yeah yeah, cut the crap… See you later then or whatever, I can't enter those bars of yours so you can enjoy them all you want."
Ryan turned around, not listening to their words. Be them complaints or something else, it was none of his business… That was…
Until one of them did not return the next morning.
…
"N-NOOO! He… NOOO!!"
The next day started chaotically. His mother getting dressed to leave, they all heard the cries of desperation as their neighboor came crashing down through the hallways, asking anyone if they had seen her son.
Hearing her voice, the still groggy Ryan grimmaced, as he suspeected, the worst had come to pass. In the passing of night to the other, his neighboot, Jebb, did not return from the late night rave he and his friends went to.
It was the usual story. Friends went in together but did not return together. And now, one of them was missing.
With the crime rate this high, Ryan expected them to understand and stick together, but maybe at the hight of the hour, intoxicated, and being stupidly young, they choose to part ways. One stood back at the party, the others woobled their way through the streets, too drunk to even see straight.
Worse, had they waited a little and noticed their friend did not return, things would've been simpler to solve, but now, it was morning, hours after they departed. By now, Jebb could be either on the other side of the street… Or far into the badlands.
That was… If he was still alive at all.
His mother came bashing through their home, asking questions, and Ryan replied the best way he could. He was just a kid and the moment the adults made their choice, it wasn't up to him anymore.
He knew he had been tasked with watching over them, and he even called his mother and his friends' parents to warn them of what their children were doing, but it didn't seem like it was enough. Some just didn't seem to care much, and it was evident in how they left him alone.
Now, a child was missing, and in this city, the only thing they were likely to recover was a finger, if lucky… It was no wonder she was so desperate.
Both Ryan and his mother tried to calm her down and go over their options. Step by step…
They asked the others but they didn't know much, they all returned late and immediately went to sleep. They were learning of his disappearance together with everyone.
Any messages? None, Jebb never contacted his parents nor anyone.
The police? Already contacted by they'll only beguin investigations tomorrow at the earliest, can't count on them.
The bar? Good try. Riot is a bar where celebrities go to sing on stage. Getting any information from them is a pipe dream, and even if they got anything, its unluckily Jebb went missing inside. The security there is quite high.
This leaves only a few places to look out for. Camera feed surrounding the bar, but that would take direct hacking into the Net of the area, and who knows what kind of boogiemen walks around there… It would be simpler to search for specific cameras and hack into them, but that takes time. Right now, every second counts…
So Ryan suggested something that may be beyond most citizens… To contact a private investigator. But would an ordinary woman know any trustworthy mercenary willing to help? As if…
So that left with only one solution… To contact a "fixer".
Fixers are the well-connected fencers, smugglers, and information brokers who apply their trade on the black market. As they are so well-connected to comings and goings on the streets, they can locate, acquire and know about a desired person, place or thing within their area of operation.
There were dozens if not a hundred fixers scattered throughout Night City, some bigger then others, some big enough to rule entire districts. Ryan knew several of them, not personally, only through contacts, mostly left behind by his former mentor. But as someone who had them, he could always contact them… As long as he had something to offer them.
He talked with Jebb's mother when his mother wasn't around and offered them this choice. She could either pull up some money and seek their help, or leave it to the police.
Ryan was interested in going after him too, but only because of the weight on his conscience, nothing more. He gave Jebb enough chances and as an adult, he made his choice.
Still, it didn't stop his mother's distress painfull to watch.
After little consideration, she pulled up everything she had. A mesly twelve thousand and gave it to him. He had the money, so it was time to make a call.
Sitting in front of his room's window, Ryan looked at his reflection, wandering just how he, a fifteen year old kid, was in charge of finding out where his stupid neighboor went in place of the police, but oh well…
He sat before the window, gazing at the gray skies above, his Agent dialing a number he rarely ever called…
/Buzz… Buzz…/
"... Who is this?"
A deep voice echoed from the other side, an aged but well contained voice.
"It's Ryan Ferdinand."
"... Ah! I remember now… The little kid who inherited my Netrunner's stuff. Say, what brings me the pleasure? Especially this early in the morning."
"Work. Need you to find someone, fast."
"Right to bizz, can't say I dislike that… So?"
"Tonight, four kids entered Riot but only three returned. The mother of the fourth kid is the client, wants to know were he is. I have the details we managed to gather but its not much."
"Very well. Anything else?"
"No. Just send the location and I'll take care of the rest."
"You? Pardon my bluntness but aren't you still a kid?"
"Yes. And unfortunately, the one missing didn't listen to this kid and now he has to clean after him."
"Ha! I know the feeling! Had an older brother once who didn't know how to sit still… Very well. I can find him for you."
"Twelve thousand. That's all she can offer you."
"Hum… I'll take five thousand, a fair price to find a kid that's missing. But to form a crew to go after him… Now that's another story."
"I know."
"Not much for words… There, I've sent you the files and the link for the wire transfer."
Ryan wasn't surprised at the man's speed. For a proficient Netrunner, everything that would take to track someone like this would be to go through the security system of the bar and its surroundings. And for a well connected fixer, a simple call would be enough to get access to half of it.
With the boy found, tracking the boy is easy. And unless he got caught by professionals, its pretty straight forward.
Ryan had interacted with braindances of detectives and police officers before.
"Hm…"
Ryan quickly checked the files and figured out the gist of it.
"Scavs… Fuck."
The Scavengers, also known as Scavvers, are an organization made of of multiple groups operating in Night City. They are known for kidnapping people and forcibly harvesting their cyberware…
Jebb didn't have a lot of Cyberware on him, but he had replaced several minor parts of his body such as his eyes and tendons to play ball better…
"Yes… That boy doesn't have a lot of time on his hands. That is, if he's still around."
"... Don't think of me as heartless. So if you need anything else, I'll be available. Make the wire once you find him… But if that's all, I'm closing the call."
"No problem, thank you for the information."
"It's as we do. A word of advice… Scavs may be nothing more then a bunch of thugs posing as something greater, but you drop your guard for a second, and you're next on their chopping block."
"... I'll keep that in mind."
/Beep!/
"Call closed… Are you really proceeding with this Ryan?" His Agent, or rather, Nean asked as her face was projected on the Agent's screen
"I have to. I made a promise and I plan to keep it. No matter how much everyone falls and say's otherwise, I'll keep my promises. Even if this world burns as a result."
"... Understood. Marking his location on virtual map…"
/Buzz!/
The hologram changed, displaying a red dot somewhere further North of his location.
"It's not that far from here. It's near Megabuilding H12… Maybe because its more chaotic towards the Eastern portion of the Northside."
'He's closer to his home then Riot is to it… I can get there by foot in less then half an hour. But that's too long.'
'I can't run there either…'
Sighing out loud, Ryan walked to the door after changing his clothes. He strapped several items to his body and filled a backpack with items, including something he frowned as he held it.
/Shine…/
A glistering revolver. Not his, but his father's. An old antique that he kept well maintained ever since he found it tucked away at some corner.
His mother dislikes weapons, especially one inside her home, but kept it hidden in case he'd ever need it. And now was the time.
Once he packed everything he needed, he closed the door, evading as many people as he could, including Jebb's mother, he went down to the entrance of the Megabuilding and called a cab. Moving to the North where things became considerably more industrial.
Northside Industrial District (NID) was once Watson's prosperous factory sub-district. Nowadays its mostly desolate and neglected, its factories are mostly non-functional and abandoned due to odd earthquake damage and a lack of investments by Japanese corporations that originally financed this area.
New apartments blocks were built on the edge of the district to hide it from the rest of Night City. They're home to mid-level employees who manage the few operational factories in this area.
Still people need to live here. Many have come here looking for opportunity and a new life. They got a big chance to work in the factory, and now they are stuck in limbo. Some other residents of the NID are much worse.
Gangs now claim the abandoned sites, warrying each other for control over the area.
/Stop…/
His cab stopped a few blocks away from the location, quickly ditching him once he got paid. Throughout the entire journey, he had a gun next to his driving wheel, ready to pull it.
Ryan never commented despite seeing it, focusing on stabilizing his thoughts as they arrived.
"Well then…"
'Time to work.'
…